News

Moody’s: Walmart, Best Buy leading charge against Amazon
Brick-and-mortar retailers such as Walmart and Best Buy are not only surviving online, but are thriving due to their sizable physical assets and digital investments. That’s one of the main findings of a new report by Moody's Investors Service, which says that while Amazon keeps raising the stakes online and has a decade-plus advantage over other retailers in e-commerce, it still faces intense competition from the likes of Walmart and Best Buy, who are raising the bar online for other physical merchants.
Shoppers keep spending in check in August
Retail sales fell more than expected in August after a strong June and a relatively flat July. The National Retail Federation said that retail sales, excluding automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants, were down 0.3% over July. On a year-over-year basis, however, NRF calculates that retail sales increased 4.1%. The slowdown in August was broad-based and, notably, there was a drop-off in non-store sales, NRF noted. Clothing sales increased 0.7% in August, driven by back-to-school shopping.

Dollar General in hiring push

Dollar General announced a major hiring initiative to support its continued expansion. The discounter said that within the next month it intends to hire 10,000 new employees to support planned store openings and fill current vacancies. The chain will hold approximately 600 localized hiring events through September. It is looking to hire both full-time and part-time positions, including store managers, assistant store managers, lead sales associates and store associates.
Retail vet joins Talbots’ board

The Talbots announced that Michael Weiss, longtime CEO of Express, has joined the Talbots board of directors, effective Sept. 1, 2012. Weiss held various leadership roles at Express, most recently serving from 2007 to 2015 as chairman, president and CEO. He joined Limited Brands in 1981 as the merchandise manager for an eight-store experimental division that became Express.
Report: It’s beginning to look a lot like a digital Christmas

Uncertainty among the upcoming presidential election is not dampening holiday sales outlooks. Indeed, retailers need to be ready to present their holiday best as U.S.-based retail performance over the November through December holiday period is expected to see a 3.2% year-over-year (YoY) lift in sales. This jump is driven partly by a 14.9% increase in YoY sales through digital channels, according to new data from RetailNext.
Smithfield sells five Chicago properties

Smithfield Properties has sold five properties in Chicago to the Acadia Realty Trust for $150 million, reported the deal’s broker, Mid-America Real Estate Corp. The properties were: • North Kingsbury Center on the corner of North Avenue and North Kingsbury Street, with tenants including Old Navy, Pier 1 Imports, Blick Art Materials, and Modani Furniture.
Toys ‘R’ Us continues to narrow loss

Things are looking up for Toys “R” Us. The nation’s largest specialty toy retailer posted a 20% increase in operating profit and reduced its net loss for the second-quarter amid reduced costs, including the expense of running its now-shuttered Times Square flagship. In addition, the retailer announced it successfully reached an agreement to refinance all of its 2017 notes and a portion of its 2018 maturities.
eBags’ new airport mantra: ‘Reunited, and it feels so good’

All travelers agree: Lost luggage can ruin any trip.

With an eye on privacy and ease of use, eBags new smart solution hopes to streamline the travel experience. The luggage and travel accessory pure-play retailer has developed an app-enabled ID tag that reunites lost luggage with their owners.

Unlike the traditional luggage tag, which prominently displays the owner's contact information for anyone to see, the eBags Connected Luggage Tag uses patent-pending privacy controls to let customers control which personal information they display on tags, and when.
Report: Digital-influenced in-store spending keeps rising

Despite an increase in digitally-influenced retail spending, a gap still remains between retailers and digital shoppers.

Digital interactions influence 56 cents of every dollar spent in retail stores, totaling $2.1 trillion by the end of the year – up from 14 cents of every dollar in 2013, according to Deloitte's new study, “The New Digital Divide: The Future of Digital Influence in Retail.”
2016 Holiday Preview: Calendar shifts could benefit retailers

It’s no secret that online shopping and changing consumer preferences continue to impact physical retail traffic. Despite the shifting landscape, retail sales remain largely intact and, more importantly, are expected to increase year-over-year this holiday season.

November and December (NRF weeks 40 – 48) are known as primetime for physical retailers. Sales generated during this period immediately impact a brands’ bottom line, and they set the stage for either success or struggle in the first quarter of the following year.